Half of Xbox Live Members are Gold Subscribers

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U.S. Gold members are on Live more than 3 hours per day.

By Jim Reilly

About half of Microsoft's 25 million Xbox Live members worldwide are Gold subscribers.

Speaking at the Credit Suisse Annual Technology Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. this morning, Microsoft's Dennis Durkin, head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, reaffirmed the importance of Xbox Live for keeping its audience engaged on the Xbox 360 console.

"Of our 25 million members, about half of them are subscribers to the business and pay us about $60 a year for that," Durkin stated. "So it's a very large business for us and for our partners."

Durkin also said that in the United States, Gold subscribers spend on average more than three hours a day using Xbox Live. He also said Xbox Live members are spending an increased amount of time in other entertainment applications outside of gaming, such as Netflix, Facebook, and ESPN. U.S. Live members are spending about 40 percent of their time online using non-gaming applications.

On the topic of Xbox Live revenue, Durkin said Xbox Live's digital transaction revenue is greater than its subscription services.

"This is a great opportunity for our media partners to stay connected with their customers and to sell them goods that they care about in their home," he said. "Whether that's game add-ons, movies, music, or clothing for their avatars, this is a very big business."

Microsoft previously announced it would raise the annual subscription fee for Xbox Live Gold in Canada, the US, United Kingdom, and Mexico starting last month. An analyst report from this past July estimates Xbox Live now generates over $1 billion in revenue each year.